You may well recognise this little amphibian as they can been seen in zoos, aquariums, laboratories and as pets all around the world, in the wild however they can only be found in the lakes and canals of a small area in central Mexico.

If you are wondering how to pronounce the name then try this – “Ax-oh-lot-ul.”. Most wild Axolotl are actually brown or black, the pinky white variety with black eyes all descend from a mutant male Axolotl back in 1863.

Here we have a male adult axolotl, those pink frills behind his head are not just for show, they are his gills helping him to breath.

Axolotl like to eat any small creatures they can fit into their mouths and they have the incredible ability to regenerate many parts of their body, including limbs, their spines, jaws and even their brains.

Due to pollution and the introduction of invasive species these little Axolotl may disappear from the wild very soon. in 2014 a survey failed to find any of the Axolotl in the wild, some have since been found in the area so hopefully they can survive. Although not ideal Axolotl thrive in captivity and so the species should survive in aquariums around the world, maybe one day we can successfully re introduce them into the wild.